Things to do in Tresco

Tresco, the second-largest island in the idyllic Isles of Scilly, offers a diverse array of activities that cater to every traveller. Whether you’re a history buff, nature enthusiast, island explorer or simply seeking a tranquil escape, this captivating island has something for everyone. Wander through the enchanting Tresco Abbey Garden, home to exotic plants from around the world, or take a leisurely stroll along the picturesque coastline, exploring hidden coves and scenic vistas.

For those looking for a bit more adventure, Tresco offers opportunities for kayaking, paddleboarding, and cycling. This guide will lead you through the island’s unique offerings, ensuring a memorable journey on this enchanting slice of paradise. Here are some of our favourite things to do in Tresco

Tresco Abbey Garden 

This seven-hectare sub-tropical garden is home to over twenty thousand exotic plants from across the world that can be grown here, and nowhere else in Britain, because of Tresco’s very mild climate. Built in the nineteenth century amongst the ruins of a Benedictine abbey, there are fishponds, a stone Gaia sculpture, glades of tree ferns and protea and succulent-lined terraces all nestled in a botanical paradise with beautiful ocean views beyond.

The Mediterranean Garden, with its Agave Fountain and the Shell House decorated with seashell mosaics, is home to the Valhalla Museum and its collection of around thirty ships’ figureheads and carvings. Most of the figureheads date from the late nineteenth century, and come from shipwrecks of merchant sailing vessels or early steamships that were wrecked on the archipelago.

Abbey Gardens

Find the skeleton in Piper’s Hole

Piper’s Hole is a sea cave situated on the north-east tip of Tresco. Once a famous smugglers’ haunt, the name may have derived from the clay pipes smokers once used. Legend states that Piper’s Hole connects to a passage under the sea leading to a sea cave on St Mary’s, and that men who entered it were never seen again and dogs emerged from the tunnel minus most of their fur.

Access, only during low tide and low sea swell conditions, is via a small entrance packed with large boulders which have to be scrambled over before dropping down to the sea-level cave. It then opens up to reveal a small freshwater pool, often filled with the floating aids that previous cavers have used to stay dry during the crossing. In the pre-war years tourists visited the pool using a punt. Keep to the right of the pool where an underwater ledge makes it possible to wade rather than swim the pool.

There’s a gravel beach at the far end, on which the skeleton sits, beyond which is a narrow corridor of granite that peters out after about thirty metres. The roof of the cave glitters like small pieces of silver, thought to either be a result of condensation supporting microbial communities, or salt and calcite deposits.

Piper’s Hole, Tresco

Walk the ocean floor to Bryher

Several times a year, on very low spring tides, the water level is so low in the Tresco Channel that it is possible to walk across the dryish seabed to Bryher; and if you leave early enough you can also walk to Samson. The walk generally starts at the slipway on Tresco heading towards Plumb Island and crosses to Church Quay, Bryher. The committed island bagger can visit Merrick Island on the way. During the summer months the Tresco Estate organises a pop-up festival midway across on a sandbar that is usually several metres underwater. There’s a Hell Bay gin bar, mini pasties and cakes, as well as fish, shellfish and paella from Bryher’s Island Fish to choose from.

www.tresco.co.uk

www.islandeering.com

Pop up cafes in the middle of the Tresco Channel

Pizza at The Ruin

Nestled in Old Grimsby this wonderfully laid-back eatery has idyllic views across the beach of Raven’s Porth. Whether sitting on the wooden decking with a coffee or an evening meal it’s an experience that shouldn’t be rushed. At the heart of this mosaic-decorated restaurant a wood-fired oven produces delicious pizzas, roast meats, fish, and homemade bread. It takes its name from the ruined smuggler’s cottage that forms part of its terrace.

Discover Tresco’s castles

Cromwell’s Castle is fabulously located on a rocky promontory to the north-west of the island, where it once guarded Tresco Channel and protected the heart of the archipelago. Built to deter Dutch invaders it is a rare survivor from Cromwell’s time. A staircase spirals within the walls of its tall round tower, taking the visitor to the roof for great views through any of its six gun ports. Cromwell’s Castle superseded King Charles’s Castle, which is located on the hill above it. The latter was so poorly sited that to hit enemy ships its cannons had to be aimed downwards and the cannonballs were said to roll out before they could be fired. Today it makes a romantic ruin to explore and enjoy the surrounding seascapes. Another fortification, overlooking Old Grimsby Harbour, is the sixteenth-century Old Blockhouse built to protect against a French attack. It would have housed a battery of artillery pieces positioned on a gun platform on top of a rocky outcrop, with defensive banks and walls and tiny living quarters.

Tresco Island walk

This ten-kilometre walk starts at Carn Near Quay then gently wanders through New Grimsby and north to Cromwell’s Castle on the boulder-strewn shore before ascending to the ruins of King Charles’ Castle. It climbs Gun Hill and crosses the heather-clad moor of the island’s north, dips into Piper’s Hole and the ruins of the Old Blockhouse to reach the delightful, castaway cafe, The Ruin. The easy path south then follows the bone-white beaches to reach the dune-backed Pentle Bay, named one of the top ‘under-the-radar’ beaches by The Wall Street Journal. The route back to Carn Near Quay affords plentiful views of Tresco Abbey and, if time permits, many options for a detour to visit the world-renowned sub-tropical garden and wildlife-rich Abbey Pool. See the Islandeering route for more details.

Cromwell’s Castle, Tresco